


Ordinary Objects

by CatWingsAthena



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Autistic Spencer Reid, Character Study, Double Drabble, Gen, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 17:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17063687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatWingsAthena/pseuds/CatWingsAthena
Summary: Dr. Spencer Reid, as told through his relationship to ordinary (and not-so-ordinary) objects.





	1. Bulletproof Vests

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everybody! This will be a series of double and triple drabbles, each focusing on one object and how Reid relates to it, either in general or in a specific context. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Chapter notes: this chapter contains mentions of sensory overload and a somewhat cavalier attitude toward remaining alive. Also, it was inspired by a gifset my sister showed me called "Dr. Spencer 'I'm allergic to my bulletproof vest' Reid", which was made up of Reid removing his bulletproof vest in dangerous situations. In most of them, he had a reason, but it got me thinking, _what if_ , and this was the result. Happy reading!

Most of the time, Reid very much appreciates his bulletproof vest.

It’s a shield, not just from bullets, but from the world. Its weight and pressure are comforting, helping him cope with the sudden loud noises and atmosphere of chaos that generally accompany the wearing of a bulletproof vest.

But sometimes, the weight and pressure get to be _ too much too much _ and he needs it  _ gone, right now _ . So he takes it off, regardless of circumstances.

(He can’t predict when that’ll happen, what’ll set it off. He just copes with it the best he can.)

When he takes it off in a dangerous situation, Morgan tends to look at him like he’s lost his mind (scratch that. If he  _ actually _ lost his mind, Reid suspects, Morgan would be a lot more understanding. This is just silly). 

Reid doesn’t care. He knows what he needs to do to get through his improbable life. And if it gets him shot someday... well, it’s been a worthy run.

(He thinks it has. He hopes it has.)

So he keeps his bulletproof vest on when he should most of the time, and takes it off when he shouldn’t sometimes, and survives.

(It's okay.)


	2. Contact Lenses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reid, "Revelations", and contact lenses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be warned: this chapter covers the events of episode 2.15, "Revelations", and as such has references to non-consensual drug use, implied torture, vaguely described injuries, and death (not a main character). Also, I headcanon that Reid wears contacts because, as we saw in the flashbacks in this episode (and later), he wore glasses as a kid, and, since he doesn't now and vision doesn't normally improve as people age, contacts seem to me the most likely possibility. Still with me? Read on!

The longer Reid sat tied to the chair in the cabin, the more his contact lenses hurt.

Of course, they didn’t hurt any more than anything else. His foot throbbed in time to his heartbeat, and his head ached viciously, reminding him of his concussion. He could feel the fuzzy darkness—from his head injury, from the drug—tugging at him, urging him to surrender, to sleep, to forget, to pretend. But every time he circled back to consciousness, the burning in his eyes reminded him of the passage of time. Statistics on kidnap victims raced through his head—he knew his chances of his friends finding him alive were ticking lower and lower as time went on. And he knew he was the only one who could help them do that.

When Tobias—he was relieved to see it wasn’t Charles or Raphael, and he hated himself just a little bit for that—came in, he thought, briefly, about asking him to untie one of his arms so he could take his contacts out. But even if that request would be granted—which it wouldn’t be—he realized he wouldn’t want to take them out anyway. Facing Charles’ beatings and Raphael’s games—and even Tobias’ needle—he needed to see what was coming. He was grateful for the clarity, painful as it was.

When he got the chance, through burning eyes, he could see to take the shot he needed to take. He watched the spark leave Tobias’ eyes, glittering in the dark.

Then, it was over.

Walking back toward his friends with a heavy weight in his pocket, Reid knew he was safe. And painful clarity was the last thing he needed.

Reid took out his contacts and let them fall as he surrendered to the fuzzy darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! The next chapter is lighter, I promise. If you want to yell at me, the comment box is below.


	3. Paper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His whole life, Reid has depended on paper.

His whole life, Reid has depended on paper.

At first, it was his mother’s journals (memorize the lyrics, then she’ll be proud of you), the books that filled his mind with the knowledge and stories he wanted so badly and let him escape for a while (the library: a place to hide, and a place to grow), and the report cards that meant he could be worth something, if he could just hold on a little longer.

Now, the books are still there.

(When he’s reading at normal speed, the words go directly from being _out there_ to being in his head, like they’ve always been there, part of him. It’s no fun at all; he doesn’t get the _experience_ of it. So, when reading for fun, he slows himself down. He reads in other languages, or reads aloud in his head, mouthing the words as he goes, binding himself to the speed of spoken language.)

But now, there’s more. Paper trails, the kind everyone seems to hate. Personally, Reid likes going through boxes and boxes of paper evidence, sinking into the flow of absorbing information and making connections. He calls it _meditative,_ but that’s not really it. He doesn’t have the words to describe it, despite his remarkable vocabulary—but then, he doesn’t need them.

And paperwork. The kind the BAU members are always shuffling off onto each other in a push-pull dance. If someone’s had a particularly bad case, the others will automatically divvy up their paperwork—even the person-specific kind. As a result of this, they’re all experts at forging each other’s handwriting (maybe FBI agents shouldn’t be breaking the law. But no one really cares). Reid’s the best forger, but when it’s Reid whose paperwork needs doing, the others come through.

(He loves them for it.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advisory to those of my readers who are in school, of whatever stripe: YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN YOUR GRADES. Mini-Reid may not know that, but you should. Hope you enjoyed; let me know below if you did!


	4. Kindles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reid hates Kindles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have no idea why I felt compelled to write this... actually, I do. I got a mental image of kid-Reid stacking books on his chest to make up for needing a weighted blanket and not having one, and then I wrote this (it was the first in this series I wrote). Hope you enjoy!

Reid hates Kindles.

Not that he’s ever _had_ one, God forbid. He just hates the _idea_ of them with a fierce passion. True, they’re convenient, but there’s something profoundly offensive about the idea of a book that isn’t a book. His team all know this fact, and accept it with varying degrees of bemusement. They don’t know why.

Books, for Reid, are more than one thing. First and foremost, they’re fuel for his mind—transport to other worlds, sources of the information he craves—but they’re also physical things, things you can touch, hold, bring your face up close to and _smell_ . Kindles do not smell good. However many words it contains, a Kindle isn’t heavy. You can’t put it on your chest as you lie in your bed, one story, one world at a time contributing its weight, until everything goes soft and quiet and you feel _still_ for once in your life. A Kindle can’t be a receptacle for memories, stories you haven’t read and never will, because you want to keep the memory of having them read to you, and you know if you read them the sound will be overwritten by the words. Kindles aren’t _real_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! The next chapter will be up soon, I just need to go rewatch 4.03 "Minimal Loss", or, as my dear friend Vita_Sine_Fantasy_Mors_Est and I call it, "Reid and Prentiss and the Crazy Cult People". Hope I've given you something to look forward to!


	5. Guns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, being held at gunpoint is a learned skill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful Vita_Sine_Fantasy_Mors_Est, who gave me the idea. It contains a reference to forcing oneself to make eye contact and, obviously, to guns. Also, it's a scene from 4.03, "Minimal Loss". Hope you enjoy!

Apparently, being held at gunpoint is a learned skill.

So, when Cyrus says “God will forgive me for what I must do” and points the gun at Reid’s head, Reid knows the drill.

Make eye contact. It personalizes you, makes it psychologically more difficult for your captor to shoot. It’s not easy, making eye contact with a man like Cyrus, but it’s easier than dying, so he does it anyway. It doesn’t always work—some people, especially sociopaths like Cyrus, just don’t care—but, when you’ve got a gun to your head, anything is worth trying.

Don’t make any sudden movements. Any such movements could startle your captor into taking the shot. Being held at gunpoint is a delicately balanced situation, but, as long as it continues the way it is, you’re alive. Anything that tips the balance could change that.

If at all possible, appear calm. Showing fear gives your captor a way in. Don’t give them that advantage.

So he looks Cyrus in the eye, keeps relatively still, and says, with only a slight stutter, “I don’t know what you’re talking about”.

(When Prentiss makes her choice, he wishes he’d said something different. But practice can’t fix everything.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shout-out to alixcharmed for commenting--I hope this met expectations! I have no idea when (or if) the next chapter will be up, as I don't have an idea for it yet, but I sincerely hope it will in not too awfully long.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please let me know below! I hope you have a great day!


End file.
